1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cycle saddle for a female.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cycle saddles and in particular, bicycle saddles, are well known. It is known that female cyclists in particular, experience discomfort and pain in the genital area when seated on cycle saddles not designed specifically for the female anatomy. In 1897, Mary F Henderson disclosed in her U.S. patent application Ser. No. 576,310 a bicycle saddle having two soft cushion lobes with a depression disposed between them. The Henderson saddle is substantially flat and thus does not provide adequate posterior support for the buttock muscles of cyclists who wish to assume an aero-dynamically efficient position with the upper body tilted over forwards. Although the idea of a hollowed out intermediate region is evident in Henderson's saddle to relieve pressure in the genital region of a person seated thereon, it fails to provide adequate anterior support for a female cyclist's pubic region.
Beylet et al disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,642 dated 1991, a high performance bicycle saddle providing support for the buttock muscles of a cyclist seated thereon in a "hunched over" cycling position. This saddle is, however, not anatomically contoured to conform to the genital region of a female cyclist. In particular, it does not provide adequate anterior support for supporting the pubic region of a female cyclist. As a result of the lack of anterior support, forward sliding of a cyclist along the saddle will not be prevented. Forward sliding with this saddle design will occur particularly during slight alterations of seating position to alleviate discomfort. Furthermore, this bicycle saddle does not conform to the shape of the whole of a female cyclist's genital region, pressure points are created causing pain and discomfort.
PCT Patents WO 91/01244 and WO 92/11175 in the names of Yates et al, both disclose anatomically conforming cycle saddles having elongated horn sections transitioning rearwardly into laterally flared raised cantles, the horn sections having a gentle cavity disposed along upper surfaces thereof. Similarly, as for U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,642, these patents do not provide adequate anterior support for supporting the pubic region of a female cyclist seated on the saddles. Thus forward sliding can take place along the saddles causing pain and discomfort. Furthermore, as the Yates et al bicycle saddles do not conform to the shape of the whole of a female cyclist's genital region, pressure points are created causing pain and discomfort. As such, the Yates et al saddles force the body of a female cyclist seated thereon to mould to the contours of the seat and thereby effectively oppose the body contours resulting in the saddle being deficient in distributing the body weight over a wide surface area, thus causing pressure and pain in the genital region.